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Have had this book on my to-read list for a few years because it wasn't at my local library. Was pleasantly surprised to come across it on the New shelf this month even though it's 5 years old. What a powerful story of post civil war. Told from three perspectives: a free slave from Philadelphia who walks 1000 miles to find his wife; his wife who is being marched to Arkansas by her abusive owner who refuses to give up his "property;" and a spunky white Boston woman who heads south to set up a school to educate the newly freed slaves. You will feel the frustration, agony, hope, and determination of the richly developed characters in this book as they courageously adapt to a new way of life even as others are refusing to accept the new laws of the nation. Very good!

This is a good engaging read. FREEMAN is the story of the south following the end of the Civil War. The story line stretches credulity to the limit at times but the book is redeemed by the fact that Leonard Pitts does an extraordinary job of capturing feelings, motives,actions, and emotions of both ex slaves and ex slave owners during the post Civil War period.